Feds charge Dartmouth selectman in alleged SRTA contract scam

Selectman John George Jr. was arrested Wednesday and charged with embezzlement and conspiracy as the owner of the Union Street Bus Co., which ran the local SRTA contract for 17 years and received federal funds, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced.

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By Curt BrownThe Standard-Times

The Herald News, Fall River, MA

By Curt BrownThe Standard-Times

Posted Aug. 7, 2014 at 12:17 AM

By Curt BrownThe Standard-Times
Posted Aug. 7, 2014 at 12:17 AM

» Social News

DARTMOUTH — Selectman John George Jr. was arrested Wednesday and charged with embezzlement and conspiracy as the owner of the Union Street Bus Co., which ran the local SRTA contract for 17 years and received federal funds, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced.

George, a former state representative and owner of John George Farm and a neighboring Slocum Road ice cream stand, denied the charges when contacted Wednesday night.

“It’s not true, and the word that best describes this is bull----,” he said.

George also said he will not resign from the town’s select board.

Word of his arrest stunned residents of the town where George has long been a prominent businessman and community leader.

“I’m shocked,” said Selectman Stanley Mickelson. “He’s one of the nicest people I have ever met and someone I could trust with my children, for crying out loud.”

From roughly 1994 to 2011, George’s Union Street Bus Co. held the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority contract to run the SRTA bus system serving the New Bedford and Fall River region.

The federal indictment alleges that George, 68, conspired with others to have his bus company employees work at his North Dartmouth farm and home and perform farm-related work at SRTA facilities during regular working hours, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

“Such farm work included plowing, loading produce and operating a produce stand at JG (John George) Farm, all during USBC (Union Street Bus Company) business hours,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a news release.

As part of the conspiracy, George allegedly deployed USBC workers to his farm to repair George’s farm equipment; used USBC equipment and labor to provide personal out-of-state roadside assistance; and inflated his final yearly salary from $75,000 to $275,000 in an attempt to fraudulently boost his SRTA pension, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in the release.

The government also charges that in 2010, George advised the then SRTA administrator to limit public advertisement for the SRTA contract bidding process to reduce competition in its bid for the 5-year contract; and that same year he directed certain USBC managers and employees to attend a $100-per-person political fundraiser to assist him in his efforts to get the SRTA contract renewed, according to the affidavit.

In September 2011, the SRTA Advisory Board named First Transit of Cincinnati, the low bidder, as its new bus provider. First Transit bid $953,736 for a five-year contract. Union Street Bus Co., which held the contract for 20 years, bid $1,503,555.

In November of that same year, George was bypassed for the position of SRTA administrator by the Advisory Board in place of the current administrator.

Page 2 of 2 - The charge of embezzlement from an organization that receives federal funds carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison with three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

The charge of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. carries a possible sentence up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, although sentences are typically less than the maximum, the news release said.

George’s attorney, Thomas R. Kiley of Boston, said they only learned of the charges on Wednesday.

“He will be pleading not guilty because he is not guilty and we intend to vigorously defend against the charges,” Kiley said.

Except for Mickelson, George’s colleagues on the Select Board had little to say about the indictment.

“That’s news to me,” said Select Board Chairman Michael P. Watson.

Asked whether George should resign from the board, both Watson and Shawn D. McDonald declined to comment.

Mickelson said he would rather not answer the question, saying it is “too early” to think about it.